CEO Greed Unlimited11 companies analyzed gave top executives a combined pay package equal to 1 percent or more of the companies average market value. The Janus Capital Group topped the list, with pay totaling $41 million for five executives.

6-13-11NYTimes "Medicare Saves Money" Paul Krugman

Medicare Saves Money - NYTimes.comIt should cover more people, not fewer.
Comment: Medicare should be extended in increments over several years to cover the entire population, beginning with children, the unemployed and the poor.

See What's New in Michigan Politics 2010 Here

What's New in Michigan Politics 2011?POLITICS IN THE DETROIT NEWS Environment must remain one of new governor\'s priorities | freep.com | Detroit Free Press Whether environmental permits are handled by a separate state department or by a...

2-14-11NYT--States Grapple with Health Costs

States and Cities Grapple with Retiree Health CostsMich officials are stunned by the challenges of paying retirees health benefits, along with pension costs. Its astronomical, said John Nixon, the states budget director. Whats happening with post-retirement health care is the biggest piece."

1-1-11FreePress--Granholm, Husband Reflect on 8 Years in Office

12-30-10NYTimes Op-ed "The New Voodoo" by Paul Krugman

THE NEW VOODOOHypocrisy never goes out of style, but, even so, 2010 was something special. For it was the year of budget doubletalk the year of arsonists posing as firemen, of people railing against deficits while doing everything they could to make those defici

12-31-10NYTimes Editorial--GOP Deficit Hypocrisy

GOP Deficit/Tax HypocrisyOn Dec. 22, just before they left town for the holidays, House Republican leaders released new budget rules that they intend to adopt when they assume the majority in January and will set the stage for even more budget-busting tax cuts.

12-27-10NYTimes--Hamtramck is Bankrupt

Hamtramck pleads for bankruptcyThe state is concerned that if they say yes to one, if that door is opened, theyll have 30 more cities right behind us, Mr. Cooper said, as flurries fell outside his City Hall window. But anything else is just a stop gap. Were going to continue

12-26-10NYTimes Editorial "The Looming Crisis in the States"

Do a majority of Michiganders approve of Congressman Fred Upton's Plan to "Assault" the Environmental Protection Agency?

A Coming Assault on the E.P.A.--N.Y. Times Editorial, December 24, 2010

Published: December 24, 2010 Republicans in the next Congress are obviously set on limiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate a wide range of air pollutants — even if it means denying the agency money to run its programs and chaining its administrator, Lisa Jackson, to the witness stand. Fred Upton, who will become the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, says he plans to call Ms. Jackson so often for questioning that he’ll guarantee her a permanent parking space on Capitol Hill. It is equally plain that Ms. Jackson has no intention of abandoning her agenda or her defense of one of the most successful of America’s landmark environmental statutes. What is not clear is where the White House stands and whether it is prepared to resist industry’s standard litany that E.P.A. is as an out-of-control agency threatening jobs with unnecessary rules.

President Obama’s political advisers have shown little enthusiasm for environmental issues. Mr. Obama himself ceded leadership on the climate-change issue to Congress, which ended up doing nothing. On the other hand, his chief environmental adviser is Carol Browner, herself a former E.P.A. administrator whose aggressive clean-air initiatives in the Clinton years would never have prevailed without Oval Office support.

Which is just what Ms. Jackson will need in the months ahead. On her plate is: a proposed rule reducing pollutants like sulfur dioxide, the acid rain gas, from power plants east of the Mississippi River; a first-of-its-kind rule limiting toxic pollutants like mercury, which the agency has been ducking for years; and, most problematic, proposals imposing new “performance standards” on power plants to limit greenhouse gases.

Taken together, these and other pending rules should lead to a dramatically less polluting fleet of power plants, a process already set in motion by the rapid decline in natural gas prices. That has encouraged industry to retire dirtier coal-burning facilities. Everyone will benefit: citizens from cleaner air, lakes and fish from reduced mercury deposits, the atmosphere from lower greenhouse gases.

Some important players in industry are ready for change. In a recent letter in The Wall Street Journal, a group of powerful utilities including Pacific Gas and Electric and New Jersey’s Public Service said that industry had had plenty of time to prepare, that pollution could be reduced in cost-effective ways and that newer and cleaner plants will create jobs, not destroy them.

But this is hardly a universal view in industry and in Congress. Although the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the Clean Air Act gives the E.P.A. not just the right but the obligation to regulate greenhouse gases, the Senate tried to subvert that authority once. Senator John Rockefeller IV, a Democrat who represents West Virginia coal interests, will surely try again.

Ms. Jackson will have to be tactically smart, lest overreaching on one rule brings the whole house down. She has already delayed new air-quality standards for ozone. She says she needs more scientific evidence to set precise limits. Historically, clean-air rules are almost always litigated, so having sound science on her side is essential.

But she won’t get far without Mr. Obama’s backing. Ms. Browner could remind the president that it was after a dispiriting Republican midterm victory that President Bill Clinton found his feet on environmental issues. In 1995, the Newt Gingrich crowd came to town promising to overturn a whole body of environmental law. Mr. Clinton rose up, not only winning the big battles, but eventually compiling a sterling record. Mr. Obama should emulate him. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/25/opinion/25sat1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

Fred Upton vs. the Environmental Protection Agency

Do you support Michigan Congressman Fred Upton's plan to "assault" the E.P.A.?

12-24-10NYTimes--"The Humbug Express" Paul Krugman

"The Humbug Express"Theres a well-developed right-wing media infrastructure in place to catapult the propaganda, as former President George W. Bush put it, to rapidly disseminate bogus analysis to a wide audience where it becomes part of what everyone knows.

Explaining the Financial Crisis with GOP DogmaThe Republican document issued earlier this week did little more than regurgitate this theory of the case. Subsidizing mortgages through the G.S.E.s was a particularly expedient way to increase the homeownership rate, they write at one point....

12-17-10NYTimes Editorial "Games vs. Governing"

Games vs. Governing in WashingtonRepublicans need to resist the obstructionism preached by their leadership and realize that the public wants the two parties to do their jobs and grapple for ways to vote together. There are still many Republicans who have not heard that message.

12-18-10FreePress--Metro Detroit Man Trapped in Qatar

Metro Detroit Man Trapped in QatarNasser Beydoun, who cut a high profile in metro Detroit and in diplomatic circles when heading the Dearborn-based American Arab Chamber of Commerce from 2000 to 2005, is trapped in the tiny Persian Gulf nation of Qatar.
Read more: Tom Walsh: Metro D

12-12-10FreePress---Right Size the Right Way Editorial

Right-size the right way | freep.com | Detroit Free Press You can question Detroit Mayor Dave Bing's political instincts and timing, but give him credit for this: The plans he announced last week to entice Detroiters into a smallish number of viable neighborhoods touches off a discussion that should have b

12-12-10FreePress---SUNDAY POLITICS

Politics | Detroit Free Press | freep.comGet the latest on Michigan and national politics and government with complete coverage from our Lansing and Washington, D.C. bureaus of the Detroit Free Press newspaper, Michigan government news, Michigan Governor News, Statehouse, Michigan State Leg

12-10-10Michigan Messenger--Hundreds Sickened by Enbridge Oil Spill

Hundreds sickened by Enbridge oil spill Michigan MessengerHundreds of people who live near Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River experienced headaches, trouble breathing, and nausea or vomiting after an Enbridge oil pipeline spilled an estimated million gallons of heavy tar sands crude into the Kalamazoo R

12-1--10NYTimes--"Obama's Hostage Deal" Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman Op-ed "Obama's Hostage Deal"The tax-cut extension increases the budget deficit a lot while doing little to reduce unemployment...the extension increases the chances that the Bush tax cuts will be made permanent, with devastating effects on the budget and the long-term prospect

12-8-10NYTimes--Tax Deal is a Backdoor Economic Stimulus

For Obama, Tax Deal is a Backdoor Economic StimulusMr. Obama effectively traded tax cuts for the affluent, which Republicans were demanding, for a second stimulus bill that seemed improbable a few weeks ago...the deal represents a clear shift in policy focus.

12-9-10MetroTimes--Leadership for Sale by Jack Lessenberry

Leadership for sale - Columns - Detroit Metro TimesMichigan legislators make pretty good money, as state lawmaker salaries go. Every one of our 148 elected representatives will be paid more than $6,600 this month. Paid that by your poor, cash-strapped Michigan, paid with our taxpayer dollars ...

11-1-10Newsweek--Jonathan Alter's Nightmare Coming True?

"Why the Midterms Matter"

"...do you know the GOP agenda? In brief repeal health-care reform, so if you lose your job and your kid gets sick, you may have to sell the house; repeal financial reform, so Wall Street scammers and predatory lenders can return to doing everything they did before they wrecked the ceonomy; maintain corporate-welfare subsidies that move jobs overseas; reduce spending by slashing education funding and ending all clean-energy projects aimed at curbing dependence on Middle East oil. Of course, thse polkcies won't cut the deficit. Republicans insist on extending $700 billion in tax cuts for the wealthy and leaving the defense budget untouched. Entitlements would be "reviewed regularyy," the GOP leadership says, which is code for doing nothing....."

12-8-10FreePress--Fred Upton to Chair the House Energy & Commerce Committee

12-4-10FreePress--GOP Blocks Increase in Millionaire's Taxes

GOP Blocks Tax Increase for MillionairesSenate Republicans have blocked legislation allowing taxes to rise on Jan. 1 on people earning more than $1 million.
The Asian secret to strong, lush hair
New scientific discovery fuels muscle building
Shocking discovery for joint re

12-4-10NYTimes--MILLIONS BRACING FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CUTOFFS

Millions Bracing for Cutoff in Unemployment BenefitsMore than two million jobless Americans are entering the holiday season seized with varying levels of foreboding, worry or even panic over what lies ahead as they cope with the expected cutoff of their unemployment benefits.

Outside Money Floods Michigan Campaigns

Outside money

In Michigan's three most competitive congressional races
this year, groups other than the candidates' campaigns spent nearly $18
million in all -- or almost $3 to every $2 spent by the candidates
themselves.

U.S. Unemployment Increases from 9.6% to 9.8%In a jolting surprise to the economic recovery and market expectations, the United States economy added just 39,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent, according to the Department of Labor.

12-3-10DetroitNews--POLITICS SECTION

11-3-10NYTimes--"Persistence of Long-term Unemployment Tests U.S.

Persistent Long-term Unemployment Tests the United StatesThis country has some of the highest levels of long-term unemployment lasting more than 6 mos. ever recorded. Meanwhile, job growth has been, and looks to remain, disappointingly slow, indicating that those out of work a while are likely to remain

11-30-10Detroit News--Politics

POLITICS IN THE DETROIT NEWSMost state government directors will no longer report to the governor under a state re-organization announced by Snyder.
Instead, directors will report to a half-dozen group leaders who will meet with Snyder and act as an executive committee....

11-28-10NYTimes Editorial--"The Unemployed Held Hostage Again"

The Unemployed Held Hostage AgainIt's hard to believe, amid economic hard times, but Congress looks as if it may let federal unemployment benefits lapse for the fourth time this year.
Lame duck lawmakers have only 1 day to renew the benefits or 2 million will be cut off in Dec.

11-28-10NYTimes--Frank Rich: "Still the Best Congress Money Can Buy"

THE BEST CONGRESS MONEY CAN BUYThe story of recent corporate political donations is just beginning to be told. Bloomberg News reported that the U.s. Chamber of Commerces anti-Democratic war chest included $86 million from the insurance lobby to fight health care reform.

Halloween is Governor Granholm's Favorite Holiday

Turns out Halloween is one of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's favorite days of the year.

She
revealed to capital reporters at a farewell dinner that she's gone to
great lengths with home decorations and costumes as governor. The dinner
conversation was off the record, but this tale is allowed: This year,
the first family and groundskeeper went all out decorating the
governor's residence in Lansing, including a fake coffin that required
trick-or-treaters to stick their hands in holes and feel yucky stuff
inside.

Granholm stood motionless off to the side, dressed as a scary clown. Hidden under the coffin was her 13-year-old son, Jack.
When teenage tricksters showed up (not little kids), Jack would grab
their legs, they'd scream and run and the governor would come "alive"
and chase them down the driveway.

The governor is an avid runner, though she could not run for re-election under term limits.

11-28-10Detroit News--POLITICS

Stevens Explains Change in Position on Capital PunishmentIn a critical essay this week in The NY Review, he wrote that personnel changes on the court, coupled with regrettable judicial activism, had created a system of capital punishment that is shot thru with with racism, skewed toward conviction...

11-27-10NY Times--Tea Party a Mixed Blessing for Israel

Tea Party is a Mixed Blessing for IsraelScores of Tea Party-backed candidates are entering Congress, many of whom favor isolationist policies and are determined to cut American foreign aid, regardless of its destination. Rand Paul, the newly elected Tea Party-backed senator from Kentucky..

11-23-10FreePress--Job Gains in 41 States

LABOR DEPARTMENT: JOB GAINS IN 41 STATESThe figures indicate the job market is picking up a bit in most parts of the country. Even the nation's hardest hit states Nevada and Michigan showed declines in their unemployment rates.
Read more: 41 states see job gains in Oct., most in 5 mon

1123-10Common Dreams Corporate Profits Break Records and So Does Unemployment

11-23-10Detroit News--POLITICS SECTION

POLITICS IN THE DETROIT NEWSSnyder catches flak from the right on endorsement of Robert Shostak to head the MI GOP. Three other candidates have expressed interest in the position: Sec. State Terri Lynn Land, Sen. Maj.Ldr. Mike Bishop & Grand Rapids businessman Scott Greenle

11-22-10NYTimes--Editorial, "What the Secret Donors Want"

WHAT THE SECRET DONORS WANT?According to tax records unearthed by Bloomberg News, the health insurance lobby secretly gave $86.2 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2009 to try to prevent the health care bill from becoming law.

11-22-10NYTimes---"There Will Be Blood!" Paul Krugman

There Will be Blood! Paul Krugman Op-edOne of our two political parties has made it clear it has no interest in making America governable, unless its doing the governing which means that the country will not be governable without it's cooperation, cooperation that won't be forthcoming.

11-21-10WashingtonMonthly--GOP Splits with Military Leaders over START Treaty

11-21-10NYTimes--Romney, Weighing Run for President, Leans on State PACs

Lax State PACs Attract Romney and other CandidatesThe financing Romney has used, leaning on not only his Alabama PAC but also on similar ones in other states, allows him to tiptoe around federal campaign finance limits. It also illustrates how potential candidates can manipulate the federal limits.

11-1--10FreePress--Points of View "More debt isn't the answer for Hamtramck"

Accolades roll in for Tim Walberg. He was named one of the "Ten Scariest Rep;ublicans Heading to Washington" by Right Wing Watch. The organization mostly finds Walberg scary because he's a righty, but focuses on accusations of his ties to "birthers (the fringe folks who question whether President Obama was born in the U.S..)

11-20-10FreePress---POLITICS/Govenment

Politics | Detroit Free Press | freep.comGet the latest on Michigan and national politics and government with complete coverage from our Lansing and Washington, D.C. bureaus of the Detroit Free Press newspaper, Michigan government news, Michigan Governor News, Statehouse, Michigan State Leg

11-19-10MichiganMessenger--Snyder Calls for Public Employee Cuts

Snyder calls for public employee cuts Michigan MessengerRick Snyder told GOP governors cutting public employee compensation one of the toughest things I need to do...cutting public employee health care and pension expenses in other states have only scratched the surface...some are looking at teachers 1st.

11-19-10DailyBeast--GOP's Dangerous Nukes Game

Kyl Blocks Vote on START nuclear treatyCast aside any doubts. There's nothing Republicans wont do to deny President Obama a political success at homeeven if it means jeopardizing U.S. national security. Namely, future relations with Russia. To be specific, Republicans, led by Sen. Kyl..

11-18-10USA Today--Palin Says She Can Beat Obama in 2012

Sarah Palin Says "I believe I can." [beat Obama in 2012]"I'm looking at the lay of the land now, and ... trying to figure that out, if it's a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family,
Asked Walters: "If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama?"
"I believe so," Palin said.

11-18-10MICHIGAN CHRONICLE CELEBRATES 75TH ANNIVERSITY

Contratulations to the Michigan Chronicle!A 75-year anniversary is a momentous occasion...
Built on a vision rooted in the belief that African Americans were entitled to live as first class citizens, the paper has never wavered in its support of this community...

Hamtramck May File for BankruptcyHamtramck, desperate for cash, has asked the state for permission to file for bankruptcy.
City Mgr Cooper said the city is staring at a $3 million deficit, fueled by a tax dispute with Detroit. Hamtamck wil run out of cash January 31, 2011.

Unemployment extension and tax cuts linked Michigan MessengerDems in Washington are catching on that they cant capitulate to an extension of Bush tax rates for the rich without at least demanding something in return, and an extension of unemployment benefits, set to expire at month end may be part of the deal

11-17-10MetroTimes--"The New Reality" by Jack Lessenberry

The new reality - Columns - Detroit Metro TimesSenate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, an ambitious politician on the make with a law degree, a real estate license and grease in his hair, is happy to cost the region tens of thousands of high-paying jobs, just to please one greedy, aging billionaire.

Pretty Good for Government Work--Warren BuffettWell, Uncle Sam, you delivered. People will second-guess your decisions, but just as there is a fog of war, there is a fog of panic and, overall, your actions were remarkably effective.
But in this extraordinary emergency you came through...

11-16-10MichChronicle

Rick Snyder's Politics of Inclusion in ActionEyebrows were raised when Snyder reached out to veterans of the John Engler administration whose legacy is divided among voters in the state but then there was some comfort once Dillon was the made the biggest news so far of the Snyder regime.

11-15-10Politics in the Detroit News

11-14-10NYTimes--O.K., You Fix The Budget" David Leonhardt

O.K., You Fix the BudgetThe looming federal deficits are so large that they are likely to occupy much of Washingtons attention for years. Arguably, this new deficit obsession what some are calling the Age of Austerity began this month.

11-14-10FreePress--Sunday Politics

Politics | Detroit Free Press | freep.comGet the latest on Michigan and national politics and government with complete coverage from our Lansing and Washington, D.C. bureaus of the Detroit Free Press newspaper, Michigan government news, Michigan Governor News, Statehouse, Michigan State Leg

11-14-10NYTimes--Who Will Stand Up To The Superrich? By Frank Rich

WHO WILL STAND UP TO THE SUPERRICH?Its the very top earners... who will be the biggest beneficiaries from an extension of the expiring Bush tax cuts for income over $250,000 for couples. The resurgent G.O.P. has vowed to fight to the end to award this bonanza, but that may hardly be..

11-13-10Michigan Chronicle--on election and post-election politics

Probable Effects of GOP Sweep Nov. 2

Michigan voters gave the GOP control of the House of Representatives, the Governor's office, Attorney General, Secretary of State plus two Supreme Court seats. This will have profound effects on Michigan. Among them are:

1. Pressure on employment, pay, health care and other benefits for teachers and state, county and city employees.

2. Pressure to make Michigan a right-to-work state, despite Snyder's campaign statement that this was not a priority issue for him. GOP conservatives are likely to try to change Snyder's mind on this issue.

3. Increased support for charter schools and watering down public school teacher tenure rights..

4. Complete GOP control of the congressional and state re-districting process will advantage GOP candidates in 2012 and beyond..

5. Union organizing will not benefit from a federal card count recognition bill. Instead, there will be efforts in Congress to require elections for union recognition in all situations even in those which are uncontested. Pressure on the budget of the National Labor Relations Board budget is likely.

6. There will be pressures in Michigan and in Washington to weaken environmental protections in the oil, mining, timber, chemical and electric power industries. Cap and trade and other climate legislation are now D.O.A.

7. Pressures to ban embryonic stem cell research and impose limits on abortions are likely.

8. GOP pressures in Congress for additional free trade pacts which won't help the dismal jobs picture in Michigan.

9. Adopting rational measures required to increase employment and recover from the recession will be more difficult.

10, Repeal of military "don't ask, don't tell" policy by Congress will be more difficult.

11. Comprehensive immigration reform is probably D.O.A.

What will be the effect of the 2010 GOP Sweep in Michigan and in Washington?

The Republicans' capture of the three statewide elective offices (governor, attorney general and secretary of state), the state house of representatives and state senate plus two seats on the Michigan supreme court combined with the GOP's capture of the U.S. House of Representatives and gains in the Senate will have profound effects for Michigan. Some of the effects may be positive, but many are likely to prove to be negative.Although Rick Snyder portrayed himself as and may actually be, a moderate, he will not be able to ignore his more conservative colleagues in the state house and senate and the attorney general's office.

Some of the likely downsides from the state and national election may include--failure to take action on important environmental issues such as the pollution resulting from natural gas "fracking;" climate change, pipeline safety, and other water and air pollution issues; continued participation by Michigan's attorney general in the lawsuit seeking to invalidate the federal health care reform bill; and perhaps of greatest immediate concern, several hundred thousand unemployed Michiganders whose unemployment benefits will soon run out with no additional extensions in sight. Sadly, we will not have the good offices and expertise of Jocelyn Benson as secretary of state. This means we will have to watch Ruth Johnson's actions on voting rights and procedures to assure she isn't up to voter suppression tactics. Finally, the brief period of a Democrat majority on the Michigan supreme court came to an end on November 2 with the election of two John Englerite conservatives to the court which will bring more decisions catering to business interests and less concern for the rights of ordinary citizens.

One of the biggest downsides for Democrats from the election is that the Republican's will be in the driver's seat for redistricting. This will give them a huge advantage in 2012 and future elections.

On the bright side, Rick Snyder promised to "reinvent Michigan," and he actually may be able to make some headway in that direction if he can get cooperation from some of the Democrats in the state house and senate. Good luck to him in these efforts. But I'm not holding my breath. Snyder's appointment of three old Engler hands as his transition team doesn't inspire confidence that he'll govern as a moderate in the footsteps of William Milliken who endorsed him for governor.

The current federal budget deficit was caused mainly by unnecessary wars
and related military spending, the worst economic downturn since the
1930s, and large tax cuts and bailouts for the rich, all stemming from
the Bush administration.

Now a bipartisan commission proposes that we solve the long-term deficit
“problem” by cutting back Social Security, Medicare and other social
welfare programs. Thus the poor, the sick and the elderly would pay for
the tax breaks and bailouts for the already wealthy.

The Republicans have made it clear that they have only one economic
goal: making the rich richer. Are there no Democrats left with any
backbone?

Robert Ortner
Short Hills, N.J., Nov. 12, 2010

The writer was chief economist and under secretary of commerce
during the Reagan administration and is the author of “Voodoo Deficits.”

11-10-10MetroTimes--Jack Lessenberry's "Politics and Prejudices"

The new reality - Columns - Detroit Metro TimesRepublicans in the driver's seat for redistricting will almost certainly throw Peters into a district he can't win in the general election, or put him in the same district with Sandy Levin, meaning one or the other will have to bow out.

11-10-10NYTimes--Deficit Panel Draft Recommendations

Deficit Panel Draft RecommendationsA draft proposal for reducing the federal debt calls for deep cuts in domestic and military spending starting in 2012, and an overhaul of the tax code to raise revenue. Those changes and others would erase nearly $4 trillion in debt through 2020.

11-10-10NYTimes--Deficit Panel Draft Recommendations

Draft Recommendations of Bi-partisan Deficit PanelThe plan would reduce Social Security benefits to most future retirees low-income people would get a higher benefit and it would subject higher levels of income to payroll taxes to ensure Social Securitys solvency for at least the next 75 years.

Followthemoney.org

Melissa Data on Campaign Contritutions by Zip Code

11-9-10MichMessenger--George Bush-"Auto Bailouts Necessary"

Bush: Auto bailout was necessary Michigan MessengerBushs advisers were telling him that with the nations economy in such a fragile state, allowing the American auto industry to collapse and go into immediately bankruptcy would push the country into a great depression. The short-term financing...

11-9-10NYTimes Editorial "A Blow to the Courts"

A BLOW TO THE COURTSLike the rest of this years political campaign, state judicial elections were awash in cash and blaring attack ads. The spectacle raises legitimate doubts about the impartiality of even the most respected judges.

11-9-10NYTimes--Paul Krugman Op-ed--"The Fed Doing it Again"

Krugman on Bernanke's Latest Action by the Federal ReserveThe case for a more expansionary policy by the Fed is overwhelming. Unemployment is disastrously high, while U.S. inflation data over the past few years almost perfectly match the early stages of Japans relentless slide into corrosive deflation.

11-7-10NYTimes--"Barack Obama, Phone Home" by Frank Rich

Barack Obama, Phone Home--Frank RichYou cant win an election without a coherent message. Obama, despite his administrations genuine achievements, didnt have one. The good news for him, if not necessarily a straitened country is that the G.O.P. doesnt have one either.

11-7-10FreePress--Politics

Politics | Detroit Free Press | freep.comGet the latest on Michigan and national politics and government with complete coverage from our Lansing and Washington, D.C. bureaus of the Detroit Free Press newspaper, Michigan government news, Michigan Governor News, Statehouse, Michigan State Leg

11-7-10NPR--Tea Party Clout--How will it affect Congress, 2012?

Tea Party Rocks the GOP Boat in Congress, 2012As many as 60 of the new Repubs in the House and half a dozen in the Senate were backed by the Tea Parties, and their clout may exceed their numbers.
John Boehner, the man who will be speaker, knows it and he's promised a mind meld with the TP.

11-6-10Free Press--GOP Threatens Unemployment Aid

Newly empowered republicans are demanding spending cuts of $5 billion to $6 billion a month as a condition for extending emergency unemployment benefits that otherwise will start expiring Dec. 1 for millions of workers who've been without jobs for half a year or longer.

Up to 2 million people could lose the benefits--which averate $310 a month nationwide--during the holiday season and up to 5 million by the end of February if a still-Democratic-controlled Congress doesn't act in a post-election lame-duck session to extend them.

11-6-10NYTimes--Politics in the New York Times

11-6-10NYTimes--Campaign Funds Remain an Asset for Ex-law Makers

Ex-Lawmakers Keep Campaign Funds for Personal UseSpending on meals and luxury hotels reflects a loophole in campaign finance laws, one that'll draw scrutiny as a remarkable wave of lawmakers leave in retirement or in defeat: Former members are free to spend their leftover PAC money as they please.

11-6-10NPR--Election Took a Bite Out of Blue Dogs

Blue Dogs Bitten by Tea BaggersEspecially hard-hit was the Blue Dog Coalition only 23 of its 54 members were re-elected, and it lost two of its leaders, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota and Baron Hill of Indiana.
"It's a caucus that doesn't have the clout it once had."

11-6-10LewRoclwell.com--How Boehner and the GOP Will Sell Out the Tea Party

11-5-19NYTimes Tea Party Flexes Muscle in GOP

Tea Party Flexes its Muscle in the GOPThe tension facing Boehner & GOP: balancing the demands of new lawmakers, some of whom ran against the GOP establishment and advocate a no-compromise stance toward Obama and Dem policies, against the need to deliver in a time of economic distress

11-5-10NYTimes--Olbermann Suspended

MSNBC Suspends Kieth Olberman for Political Donations2:56 p.m. | Updated Keith Olbermann, the top anchor on MSNBC, was suspended on Friday after the channel discovered that he made campaign contributions to three Democrats last month.....Anybody surprised that he contributed to Democrats??

11-5-10NYTimes--Parsing the Myths of the Midterm elections

Midterm MythsBoth political parties would do well to beware the mythological creature that often surfaces immediately after Election Day: the Mandate.
Even as they were electing Republicans, a majority of voters said they had an unfavorable view of both parties.

11-5-10NYTimes--Pelosi Wants to Stay on as Minority Leader

Pelosi Will Stay on as Democratic Minority Leader of HouseDespite steep losses for her party in Tuesdays elections, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said on Friday that she would run to remain the leader of the House Democrats, even as some of her colleagues urged her to step down.

10-31-10NYTimes "Mugged by the Debt Moralizers," Paul Krugman

Mugged by the Debt MoralizersWhat should we be doing? 1st, governments should spend while the private sector wont, so debtors can pay down their debts without perpetuating a global slump.
2nd, promote widespread debt relief to levels debtors can handle is the fastest way to..

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AUTHOR

Ralph Deeds

7 years agofrom Birmingham, Michigan

State debt crises loom--

“It seems to me that crying wolf is probably a good thing to do at this point,” said Felix Rohatyn, the financier who helped save New York City from bankruptcy in the 1970s....

Some of the same people who warned of the looming subprime crisis two years ago are ringing alarm bells again. Their message: Not just small towns or dying Rust Belt cities, but also large states like Illinois and California are increasingly at risk.

Municipal bankruptcies or defaults have been extremely rare — no state has defaulted since the Great Depression, and only a handful of cities have declared bankruptcy or are considering doing so.

But the finances of some state and local governments are so distressed that some analysts say they are reminded of the run-up to the subprime mortgage meltdown or of the debt crisis hitting nations in Europe.

Analysts fear that at some point — no one knows when — investors could balk at lending to the weakest states, setting off a crisis that could spread to the stronger ones, much as the turmoil in Europe has spread from country to country.

Mr. Rohatyn warned that while municipal bankruptcies were rare, they appeared increasingly possible. And the imbalances are so large in some places that the federal government will probably have to step in at some point, he said, even if that seems unlikely in the current political climate.

“I don’t like to play the scared rabbit, but I just don’t see where the end of this is,” he added.

The current federal budget deficit was caused mainly by unnecessary wars and related military spending, the worst economic downturn since the 1930s, and large tax cuts and bailouts for the rich, all stemming from the Bush administration.

Now a bipartisan commission proposes that we solve the long-term deficit “problem” by cutting back Social Security, Medicare and other social welfare programs. Thus the poor, the sick and the elderly would pay for the tax breaks and bailouts for the already wealthy.

The Republicans have made it clear that they have only one economic goal: making the rich richer. Are there no Democrats left with any backbone?

Robert Ortner

Short Hills, N.J., Nov. 12, 2010

The writer was chief economist and under secretary of commerce during the Reagan administration and is the author of “Voodoo Deficits.”

AUTHOR

Ralph Deeds

8 years agofrom Birmingham, Michigan

We have no way to go but up. Thanks for your comment.

However, as is not uncommon, you don't have your facts quite right. Michigan suffered for 12 years under Republican governor John Engler and a very right wing Michigan Supreme Court. The we had Democrat Granholm for 8 years who did her best but was dealt a bad hand by George Bush, Republicans in the state legislature and short sighted managers who ran the American suto companies off the road.

Harvey Stelman

8 years agofrom Illinois

Ralph, I'm going to cry tears of happiness. When looking at how Michigan is doing, I know this was necessary. Cities are bankrupt, unemployment is one of the highest in the country and then there is Detroit.

Democrat's have been in charge on the state for years, and that is what they've accomplished. The Republican's are far from perfect, but maybe they can help. H

AUTHOR

Ralph Deeds

8 years agofrom Birmingham, Michigan

I agree that we need more cooperation among our representatives. And we need more "independents" in the sense that they are willing to vote their in accordance with their own belief in the public interest even though it may be contrary to their own party line. I'm not a big supporter of minority parties. Historically, our two party system until recently has served the country well.

Yena Williams

8 years agofrom California

I also feel they will not really be "working together" on issues, but if they do, I'd feel grateful. We need more independents in office since I feel they are more open to compromise!

AUTHOR

Ralph Deeds

8 years agofrom Birmingham, Michigan

Me, too. Thanks for your comment. McConnell seems to be ready to run the country's economy on the rocks if it will defeat Obama in 2012.

Howard Schneider

8 years agofrom Parsippany, New Jersey

I hope the Republicans are actually going to meet President Obama in his effort to compromise and not do as Sen. McConnell wants and simply obstruct. The politics of simply defeating Obama for victory's sake is evil. There are a plethora of issues to address which you listed very well in your Hub. I hope your leaders in Michigan rise to the challenge and I hope the same for all the states and the country as a whole.

eovery

8 years agofrom MIddle of the Boondocks of Iowa

I like your 'tache. It must have taken a while to grow.

I hope things state looking up in Michigan. You guys need some businesses to come in, and quit driving them out.

Keep on hubbing!

AUTHOR

Ralph Deeds

8 years agofrom Birmingham, Michigan

Thanks for your comment. I do, too. [I almost, but not quite, voted for Snyder.]

SheriSapp

8 years agofrom West Virginia

Pretty fair piece of reporting. For the sake of your state, I hope he is able to do a good job.

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